


The Keyblade Master's Guide to Journaling

by AppleSoda



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Action/Adventure, Character Study, Diary/Journal, Friendship/Love, Gen, KH3 spoilers, M/M, Slice of Life, i listened to too much steven universe music before drafting this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-01-13 14:53:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18471223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleSoda/pseuds/AppleSoda
Summary: King Mickey convinces Riku to start organizing mission logs in a journal. Soon after he starts, information from the distant past and stranger-than-fiction present comes to light. To make matters worse, since the Mark of Mastery Exam, he's felt more distant from Sora than in the past.





	1. Out of Sight, out of Mind

“The Keyblade snapped in half, and someone spoke to you in a void…is that what usually happens? Geez, I should’ve never switched sides…” Axel grimaced as he took the larger of the two suitcases off Riku’s hands. When Riku shot him a withering look, he laughed and then shook his head. “I was _kidding_. _Kidding_. No need to look like we’re about to go one-on-one.”

 

“Sounds like you’ve been through a lot lately, Riku.” Kairi retrieved the set of clothes and nodded in thanks to the King.”Is everything okay?”

 

For their troubles of delivering new gear to the other two Keyblade wielders, both Riku and Mickey had received sea-salt ice cream pops, which they shared with Kairi and Axel on the sunny hillside. Some time ago, Axel had developed a habit for the chilly treat, and had brought along coolers full of the stuff whenever they could make a stop by Twilight Town.

 

“I mean…more or less. All limbs— and hearts— intact. That’s the best case scenario when it comes to what we need to do.” Immediately, Riku regretted biting into the ice cream bar too fast, and clutched the side of his head. Sea-salt ice cream had done what the Demon Tower couldn’t, which was really get to him.

 

Shaking off the brain freeze, he looked over at Kairi, whose arms and hands were covered in nicks and scratched. “Getting used to fighting regularly with the Keyblade, I take it?”

 

“You know, I think I’m making progress. Merlin’s planning on taking us to a few different places to train on tougher Heartless. This guy here’s really excited.” she pointed at Axel. Or was it Lea? Riku wasn’t a hundred percent sure, and asking was out of the question.

 

“Got kind of nostalgic about missions. You know how it is,” Axel attempted to swing the handle of his keyblade like a chakram, but accidentally hit himself in the side of the head in the process. “Stupid thing…” he muttered, drawing snickers from both Riku and Kairi.

 

He did, in fact, know how it was. But every time Riku really thought about every type of mission that made up his past, Riku wasn’t sure exactly what to think. That was the problem with being seen as dependable. You never really had room for doubt once you had proven yourself to run into a storm of Heartless without blinking an eye.

 

“Was Sora at the tower? How is he doing?” A worried look came over Kairi’s face, and Riku didn’t fault her for doing so. Both of them had watched with some curiosity how he had sped off towards Olympus, eager to regain the strength that the disasterous Mark of Mastery exam had sapped from him. But Riku could only shake his head. Mickey looked sadly at the ground.

 

There was a heaviness to the silence that had fallen between them. It wasn’t sudden or continued, but that it was there, along with a distance Riku couldn’t quite place. But the fact that Sora felt disappointed was a little troubling. They had always been neck and neck when racing across trees and hills back on the islands, and had been side by side. But now, things looked a little different.

 

“I think he’s looking for a way to get back the strength he lost. It’s not looking easy, though.” The lapse in power had come at a bad time too, with the fact that Xehanort was gathering an army to face them.

 

“There never seems to be a very easy path for him to take, is there?” Kairi wondered. No matter how bad things had gotten, she was always easy for him to confide in, and vice versa. With her, Riku had never needed to unpack everything down to the last detail. That, at the very least, hadn’t changed.

 

“But you’re going to be there for each other. Inseparable.” She grinned. “I don’t think any of us can forget about what’s most important.”

 

Axel yelled at something off in the distance with a string of colorful language. “Alright, enough chit-chat. I’ve got to learn how to fight my way out if a group of Heartless surround me. Looks like my partner’s gone ahead. ” She peered over the hill, where a group of birds with sharp, quick beaks surrounded the other keyblade wielder.

 

Cracking her knuckles in determination, Kairi waved goodbye and set off for the woods, leaving Riku alone with Mickey once again.

 

“Am I really in a slump?” He asked.

 

“It’s not a bad thing to know you need to change something,” replied the mouse evenly.

 

“Things just feel…muddled, for some reason I can’t place. Like I don’t know what my options are. Is that weird?” Self-consciousness wasn’t something he liked to express freely. Really, bottling things up was generally the way that Riku worked, since he had been operating alone for so long. Mickey was a little different, but it had taken some time to re-adjust collaborating with others again. Sora, as always, was a special case.

 

“I think I know just the person to talk to if you’re feeling lost in thoughts,” said Mickey. “Let’s test out that new phone on our way back.” 

 

= =

 

“You oughta get yourself a journal!” Jiminy jumped up from the hood of Sora’s jacket. “If you write all your memories down, good and bad, then that’s one more thing that helps figure out where ya need to go next.”

 

“Yeah, he’s written down everything that happened…Well, except that one time when it didn’t in Castle Oblivion. But that wasn’t Jiminy’s fault,” Sora insisted.

 

“Okay, question. Sora, do you read what Jiminy writes?”

 

“Uh….sometimes. If I’m really stuck on something. Why?”

 

“Well, I’ll give it a try. I can start an entry about your reading habits.”

 

“Hey, I read!” Sora held up a hand.

 

“I’ve never seen him read anything more complicated than a cereal box,” Donald insisted. “And we’ve been traveling together for a year.”

 

“Why are you taking his side?” Sora snapped. Somehow, Riku guessed that verbal clashed between the two were common. But not enough to be a problem, if the fact that Goofy remained calm meant anything.

 

“Why don’t cha start by writin’ down what you did in the past?” The knight suggested. “That way, you and the King can think about all the memories you shared. I’m sure there’s lots of good ones.”

 

Mickey seemed to take a shine to that idea. “What a swell suggestion, Goofy! That’s something that’ll have Riku right as rain again in no time.” At the comment, Riku fervently shook his head, hoping the video chat didn’t catch him doing just that.

 

“Wait, ‘right as rain’? Did something happen?” The other end of the feed cut back to Sora, who furrowed his brow in concern.

 

“No,” he replied flatly. The last thing he needed to happen was for Sora to get worried. Because when Sora got worried, he made mistakes. And that couldn’t happen if he was to refind the power of Awakening. “I can take care of myself, Sora. It’s just that the King and I have something difficult to do. You know that.”

 

He hadn’t meant to try to turn the deflection into something like a lecture. Nonetheless, it had come off a bit colder than he’d meant to, and the fact that he always tripped over his words whenever the prospect of letting Sora in a little more added one more thing to Riku’s regrets and doubts. Well, he thought, Sora continued to talk about fighting titans and Heartless, that was probably something to work out in writing. As Riku and Mickey’s ship pulled into the golden afternoon of Twilight Town to find supplies to set one up, he began to imagine, little by little, just what working out the memories that he carried would do.


	2. Respite and Purpose

Twilight Town’s marketplace was busy, even though it was just about to close for the day. King Mickey was bargaining for a few gummi blocks that needed to be repaired, leaving Riku to his own devices in the last few hours before they were set to depart the peaceful, quiet world to meet Ienzo in Hollow Bastion. All that afternoon, Riku had searched for what looked to be the sturdiest of journals, one that had the best chance of surviving getting smashed against a cliff by a Demon Tide, or through a skirmish with an Organization member.

 

Though Jiminy liked to type entries into a gummiphone now, Riku instinctively felt a little more old-fashioned when it came to the things he wanted to write down and keep to himself. As he selected the black leather-bound notebook carefully, he wondered if Sora had any secrets of his own to keep. Did someone who wore his feelings so openly have to? It seemed easy to know how Sora would react to things, but he could also be stubborn enough to not tell anyone else when he was determined to take the brunt of a devastating attack.

 

That was just the sort of advice someone like Hercules would give. It wasn’t hard not to know what kind of person he was, not when Riku had heard Hades gripe and complain about the hero for hours on end alongside the host of villains that had diminished sharply over time. It seemed that now, only Maleficent stayed true to the cause, and her plans seemed to change on a whim.

 

“Hey, I know you. You’re Sora and Kairi’s friend, aren’t you?”

 

A cheery-looking brunette girl and two boys bounded over from one of the stalls, all wearing some kind of uniform he had seen on people that staffed the market’s item shops. But he recognized them on sight, and instinctively wanted to shrink away from them. Pence, Hayner and Olette hadn’t done anything wrong, but their memories and their data had been a part of a life that he wanted to leave behind.

 

Riku absently ran his fingers against the spine of the journal, taking a breath to slow the thoughts racing through his mind. It was going to be alright, he thought. As long as there was some way to get the worry out, he could confront everything in the darker recesses of his memories. And besides, there was nothing that they seemed to hold against him.

 

“Yeah. It’s Riku,” he held out his handshaking Olette’s and bumping fists with Hayner, and listened as they introduced themselves. “They’ve told me a lot about the three of you. What’s up?” Every words was chosen carefully, but he could still remember one thing clearly about the teens when they had crossed paths: namely, him running as fast as he could away from Station Heights with a pouch and a crystal orb hidden in the pockets of his coat.

 

Even then, Riku was rationalizing that it was fine, that he wasn’t ruining anything in reality, and that it was all for a good reason when it really counted. If that was convincing enough, he could get through the conversation and go where he really needed to be next.

 

Olette glanced at the large clock tower out in the far distance, grinned, and removed the uniform apron she wore over her clothes. “We had a hunch that you’d be someone to ask about the weird stuff happening in town. SinceSora’s been fighting those strange-looking monsters all the time.”

 

“He’s been looking for Roxas, too,” Pence said. “I’ve been working with someone named Ienzo to try to decrypt computer data in the Old Mansion. I bet that that’s going to be of interest to those guys in black that townspeople have seen walking around.”

 

“And I’ve got the important job keeping an eye on these two,” Hayner added. “You never know what kind of weirdos are going to do _after_ they start crawling around here.”

 

“That’s true. I’d be careful if I were you,” Riku agreed. “We’re not sure where everything is headed either,” which was true, in part. There was a prophecied battle, and lost masters of the keyblade that lay beyond their reach. But to him, the immediate future was an unsolved problem.

 

“Which is why,” Pence said proudly, holding up his phone, “I’ve started a Soundcast to _really_ figure out what’s been going on with everything.” The device played a little jingle, then started to play an audio clip of his voice rattling off facts about the Old Mansion.

 

“What’s a…Soundcast?” Already, Riku regretted asking, but he also wanted to know, despite the fact that a question like that invited more information than he really needed. 

 

“Ooh, You’ve gotten him started,” Olette warned, but not unkindly. 

 

“Soundcast…It’s the hottest thing that’s hit Twilight Town since Sea-Salt Ice cream!” Pence piped up.

 

“That’s still popular,” Hayner cut in. “Sea-Salt is never going out of style.”

 

“For now,” Pence grinned. “But basically, you can record radio shows about anything you want and send it over gummiphones. Scrooge and his nephews have been working on phone upgrades, so even you and Sora and Kairi can listen to shows like mine, and sleuth along with me!”

 

It was true that they needed more people to bounce ideas off of, especially when it came to information about the Organization, as of late. Pence was looking at him expectedly, and before he knew it, Riku was nodding along to the sound of a theory about the digital Twilight Town. For someone that should’ve been out of the loop, it was impressive how much they’d been able to figure out.

 

“I’ll see whatever information I can get to you. That you can share, anyways.” Despite his overenthusiasm for figuring out mysteries, Pence had talent, and Riku knew it. And if the Noizcast could help any of them brainstorm about the Organization’s plans, then there was a chance they could get a step ahead. As he collected his thoughts, Riku opened his notebook and wrote down an idea to discuss with King Mickey. It felt good, to scribble down a commitment to keep writing on the first page of the journal.

 

“Yesssss! We’re going to figure out exactly what those weird black-coated guys are up to. Maybe I can get the ice cream stand to sponsor us so I can buy Riku a mic!” The boy grinned, and ran off with an excited wave. “I’ll text you the details about my next episode!”

 

The feeling of finding footing was one that came and went. Whenever things seemed most hopeless, there were always moments that he had used to help guide him back from hopelessness. There was Sora, of course, who never gave up and held onto him when he had been weakened or worse. There was the King, who was a voice that called him from the Realm of Darkness itself. Kairi had recognized him even when his face had been shrouded by another’s, and was determined to reconnect him to Sora no matter what. And now, Lea and the three teens had entered his life, coloring the days with time spent readjusting to whatever he needed to be next.

 

“The Organization’s been behaving _differently_ lately,” Riku frowned. “Have you noticed that?”

 

“Is this about what they did during the Mark of Mastery?” It was the precise combination of annoying and horrific, that they had revealed a purpose more sinister than collecting hearts, building an artificial moon, and then becoming whole again.

 

“Exactly, and it’s more about just getting to battle for the X-blade” He flipped to a blank page of the journal, already eager to start writing. “I’m getting down the details of what happened, but everything’s pointing to one thing—” A few moments ago, he had drawn arrows to the names of their three lost masters— Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. “The Keyblade wielders we’ve been looking for.”

 

“Find the Organization, and we’ll find clues to Aqua and her friends,” the King smiled. “Gosh, that’s a great idea!”

 

“Wasn’t mine. Well, it was mine, in part.” They headed to the gummiship, ready to make a few navigation modifications to trace out the trails of Darkness the Nobodies used. “We’ll only know if it works for sure if we track one of them down.”

 

“Then we’d better get going fast,” said Mickey. “Because they’ve probably got plans of their own for the worlds that have opened up. And that means trouble.”

 

Riku grinned, starting the navigation process for the ship. “Good thing we’re used to trouble.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I wanted to write this fic I immediately put down “Pence starts a true crime podcast about KH lore” in the initial concept


	3. Weaving a New Tale

“So it looks like the wo—I mean, place we’re in has gotten split in two, just like it was during the exam…” Sora, who was made of bricks and plastic joints to match the world he was in, scratched his head. “It’s tough for the toys here waiting for the kid that owns them to come home. But we’ll figure out how to merge the worlds and get them back safe and sound.” Behind him in the distance were the enormous display shelves of a store, filled with flashing lights and colorful boxes.

 

“I bet,” agreed Riku. “But if the younger Xemnas is there, you’d better be careful. He’s probably test-running something he wants use do to help out Master Xehanort later on.” What he wanted to add was an inquiry of whether or not they needed any help. But somehow, the words remained stuck, and he fell back on the silence that probably got transmitted as awkwardly as he felt over the gummiphone signal.

 

“Yozora!!!!” A loud voice suddenly belted out from behind Sora, interrupting the video call. Riku then saw Sora shoved aside, and looked at the phone in alarm. Then, a large plastic dinosaur grabbed ahold of the phone and came into view onscreen. Well, mostly his nose. Riku couldn’t see much past the shiny green plastic of the toy’s body as he clunked about in excitement.

 

“Sora said he wasn’t from the game, but you look even more like him! I can’t believe it! I have so many questions to ask you!” The dinosaur talked far faster than anyone Riku had ever heard, and he looked to the side of the screen to see if Sora was safe. The creature didn’t _look_ like a Heartless, and didn’t _talk_ like Nobodies usually did.

 

“I’m okay, Riku! Rex just thinks…well, that you look like his favorite video game character!” He heard Sora say from somewhere in the distance. Relaxing a bit, Riku considered his options to respond to the situation unfolding before him.

 

“It’s true! Look!” The phone swung over to a display case, where a photo of a surly-looking, pale-haired young man sprawled over a chair glared back at Riku. A menacing sword of red energy dangled from his hands, and he wielded a crossbow in the other. Frankly, it was a bit ridiculous, but if Riku was honest with himself, he had worn a number of ridiculous getups before.

 

“Hm….Well, I…guess the hair might look similar?” Riku reached up and tweakes at his newly shorn, spiked hairstyle. “Not seeing the resemblance past that…” The conversation had gotten to a place he hadn’t really expected, even if Sora was one of the people within it.

 

“Donald here,” Sora nudged the wizard with his elbow, “thought I wasn’t ‘cool enough’ to be that guy.” And true to his word, the little duck, now made of bricks just like Sora was, gave an indifferent shrug.

 

“You can’t run from the truth, Sora…” said Donald pensively, crossing his arms with a sage-looking nod.

 

“Give him a break, he can’t help but be bad at…whatever that is.” Riku laughed, pointing to the poster.

 

“You know, your story made me choke up a little, honestly,” a voice from below spoke up. When the phone moved again, he was face-to-face with a piggy bank, which nodded. “Last week, I watched Rex get to the part where Yozora had to make a choice between getting his power restored or saving his best friend, and he dove in without a second thought! Oh, man….” As the bank shook his head, there was a pleasant jingling sound as coins rattled about inside. “That hit me right in the gut, kid.”

 

“That beautiful storytelling is why Verum Rex should be named _game of the year_!” The dinosaur exclaimed.

 

“Guys….” As Sora finally retrieved the phone back, the look on his face was sheepish but clearly enjoying the rich backstory of a brooding character that, if Riku was being honest, was hitting a lot closer to home than intended. “They’re really excited to meet new people and talk about something that makes them happy. I mean, I don’t blame em’.”

 

“Kind of reminds me of you,” Riku couldn’t help but grin at seeing Sora, of all people, try to talk someone else down from getting over-energetic. It was nice, that they were able to talk again about _something_ , anything that wasn’t the difficult knot of memories between them, or the power of awakening that Sora needed to try to unlock.

 

“Well, I guess that’s how I’m gonna face Xemnas. Being me,” As he waved and signed off, Riku was left with a smile that lingered and a lightness in his heart as he looked back towards his own gummiship’s navigation pane.

 

Suddenly, he wasn’t so worried about whatever plans Xehanort or anyone else had, at least not for the short term. If ever there was an opportunity for Sora to forge a path ahead, he would take it. And Riku was certain that whenever he had arrived at the answers he needed to, he would make whatever choices he needed to keep him safe.

 

After all, that was what he had committed to doing from the moment the Keyblade truly chose him. A few more trials were nothing in comparison. 

 

 

= =

 

“We were having dinner in Twilight Town on a break, and the chef of the bistro was desperate to find an ingredient. And…One thing kind of led to another with the owner, so we’re out looking for something called ‘snowfruit’ here,” Kairi seemed to findtheir circumstances unusual, but kept sneaking glances towards the mountain excitedly.“Merlin knows, and he thinks it’s good practice to train on live enemies.”

 

“It’s a side-quest,” Axel pointed out with all the confidence of someone that insisted on thinking things through his way. The longer Riku spent speaking to him, the more he was convinced that the man operated on logic that just about nobody else did.

 

“I don’t know what a side-quest is, exactly, butI’m kind of excited by the change of pace!” Kairi’s expression was bright, like a camper at the beginning of a long journey out into the wilderness. She looked the part, too, dressed warmly in a thick, dark pink coat. Riku had picked up a scarves and hats for him and the King from the clearance rack of the store they still stood in.

 

Axel still wore his Organization uniform, claiming that it was weatherproofed. “I’ve handled worse climates,” he scoffed. 

 

“So many customers picking up warm things,” clucked the cheery shopkeeper. “I just knew having a summer blowout would boost business!”

 

“Wait,it’s supposed to be summer here?” Riku looked around, eyeing the snowfall that didn’t seem to be stopping outside their window.

 

“Doesn’t look it, but something funny’s going on.”Mickey boosted himself up and looked up the slope, where the storm seemed to be stronger than below.

 

“By the way, have either of you seen any traces of the Organization?”

 

“I’ve just seen the one black-coated person,” Kairi shook her head. “And he’s standing right next to you.”

 

“How the tables have turned. Yknow, I had to try to track _you_ down once,” Axel cracked a grin. “Could’ve done it too, had other things not been on my plate.”

 

“I’d like to see you try,” Riku scoffed. Still, he knew that the taller man was dependable when it really counted. And whatever a side-quest was, they were going to be two extra sets of eyes looking out on the mountainside for clues to the lost Keyblade wielders. But for now, Arendelle was telling them to take time to wait. For what, he wasn’t certain.

 

“Has anyone else come through here?” Opening up his journal, he looked at the shopkeeper, who seemed very pleased with them and all too patient to allow paying customers to wait out the worst of the storm. Nobody sensible was going to be caught out without warm clothes, and any explorers on the mountain could be a witness to the Organization.

 

“Ooh, yes. A red-headed girl and a very rude man. They’re no longer allowed on the premises, but I wish them well,” the man replied pleasantly. “Come to think of it, she looked a bit…hmmm….like the late Queen. Oh!” He clapped his hands to his cheeks. “My goodness, I’ve been horribly rude!”

 

Riku wrote down _Princess_ and circled it. That was one lead, and, though he wasn’t proud, he had some talent in tracking down lost princesses.

 

“Jiminy mentioned recently that the Organization was lookin’ after new Princesses of Heart,” said Mickey. “That means she’s probably in danger if we don’t get to her real soon.”

 

“Well, she can’t have gotten very far if she was here recently. Nobody’s moving through that,” Kairi glanced out the window. 

 

Before Axel could pipe up with a very apt joke about Organization members, she silenced him with a glare and a sharp shake of her head. “We’re not doing this today,” she hissed.

 

“Alright, alright… Well, if we’ve got time to kill, I’m going to nap on that couch,” grumbled the Nobody. “Have fun workin’ on your memoirs, kid.” Riku looked down, and found himself already absently recording down mission logs and notes from the past. Kairi had picked out a set of knitting needles and was starting a project of some sort with the shopkeeper.

 

The little book had already been collecting information about the present like a sponge, in part due to how he had built out the habit. But, as circumstances were taking them into the past, what he needed to do was to face it, regardless of whatever it unearthed. That was what it took to move forward, even if it didn’t make for a good story to tell.

 

He closed his eyes, and thought to the three keyblade wielders. As he traveled with the King, he heard stories about their deeds. Terra, who was headstrong, was someone he felt a faint but clear connection to. Ventus, who got into trouble, was someone the others sought to protect. And Aqua, distant and trapped in the Realm of Darkness beyond their reach, had given up everything for her two friends.

 

Riku couldn’t help but link their circumstances to the things he had seen. With their lives at stake, he began to write the story that he knew to be true.

 

“Look,” Kairi said after a while. “It’s slowed down.”

 

Finishing a section off, he closed the book and opened the door. The hills outside the shop were covered with a thicker layer of snow, as were the mountainside leading to a field below.

 

“Let’s split up to look,” said Mickey. “You two take the snowfield, and Riku and I can head on up to look for the Princess or the Organization.”

 

“First one to find something gives the other search party a call.” Kairi held up her phone, evidently excited at having something more to do than collecting fruit. Axel followed her as they descended the mountainside, glad to be free from being cooped up anymore.

 

As their friends departed, Riku looked up where the hill sloped so sharply, he could swear the walls had been sculpted to be intentionally difficult to ascend. But it didn’t matter. Tough terrain wasn’t something new, and neither were people that were trying to make themselves unreachable. Whoever it was that was looking to hide secrets about the people they searched for, he would find sooner or later.

 

That was just a part of a good story that remained untold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how fast do you think Sora texted verum rex photos to his friends though


	4. Honesty's Burden

Even though the snow had stopped falling— finally— since they last took refuge in the shop, Riku felt the sting of the post-storm temperature as he and Mickey continued to climb upwards. They weren’t alone on the mountain, not by a long shot.

 

In the time that the snowfall had accumulated, herds of reindeer-shaped Heartless had started to roam the mountain, taking territory in like they owned it. Ice gleamed off their short, sharp horns as a gorup of them charged immediately, flanked by tall, elegantly dressed ones wielding laser-shooting parasols. Both had the telltale shadowy bodies and glowing yellow eyes.

 

“If there’s a Princess up here, she’ll need to protect herself or get somewhere safe,” Mickey observed, as they took apart a group, scattering the fleet-footed foes. “The mountain’s crawling with Heartless.”

 

“Well, she could know how to fight them off, or the rude guy could be a bodyguard sent from the kingdom,” angling over to a copse of trees, Riku spotted a treasure chest and cracked it open, happy that he was able to find it just before they moved on from the area. “I mean, if Queen Minnie was going anywhere, you’d send her with someone, wouldn’t you?” He sidestepped a barrage of projectiles, rolling to the side and blasting the Heartless apart with a bolt of dark energy.

 

Mickey nodded in reply. “If things got really tough, she can pack a punch with some magic as well. But you’re right. We’ll just have to keep looking, and hope this Princess is safe, too.”

 

“Right,” Riku agreed.

 

Suddenly, they heard the sound of someone yelling off beyond a copse of trees. Reflexively, Mickey bolted off towards the source, sensing someone in danger. Following suit, Riku found himself face-to-face with a richly dressed young man, who was shivering and brandishing a longsword. Though the Heartless he was fighting had vanished, he looked shell-shocked and shaken, as if the ordeal had been incredibly difficult.

 

But after a few seconds had passed, he slid the sword back into its sheath, and looked cool-headed once more.

 

“Prince Hans,” gasped the man, introducing himself, “of the Southern Isles. Have you seen a woman come up the mountain?” He fell into a bow that looked far too formal to be trying on the mountainside. But Riku wasn’t about to tell a Prince how to do his job, and he wasn’t taking advice on fighting with a Keyblade from Hans.

 

“The red-headed Princess?” asked Mickey. “I’m afraid not.”

 

At the news, his face fell, and narrowed into something that resembled disappointment and dismissal for a moment. “Oh, uh…. I’m not really looking for her. I meant a pale-haired woman. Elsa. She’s the Queen of Arendelle, you see. And finding her is of utmost importance to my mission.” As he caught his breath, an air of arrogance crept into Hans’ voice. “Peace between our two nations must be achieved, because this land is what’s most important.” A gleam crept into his eye— one of ambition that looked to burn through everything that stood in its way. Recognizing that exact look was easy. How many schemes had he seen that started out with that kind of ambition?

 

Problem was, Riku had no proof, and if it was going to be his word against someone who looked the part of a dutiful young prince, he would lose nine times out of ten.

 

“I hope you can find her before she falls into danger,” Playing it cautiously, he looked around the snowy landscape. “The climate on this mountain looks to be only getting harsher as you get closer to the top.”

 

“No need to worry,” replied Hans. “I’m sure the cold’s not bothering her one bit.”

 

As he departed, Mickey cast him a look, then glanced towards the prince’s retreating form.

 

“Funny business,” observed the King.

 

“He couldn’t have made it any more obvious,” Riku scoffed.

 

= = =

 

“Axel and I ran into her not too far across from the shop. And the grumpy guy knows all about this mountain.” Through the signal of the gummiphone, Kairi sounded nothing but optimistic. And she had good reason to, as it turned out. “She’s _so_ nice! Apparently, this is her first trip outside of the palace, so we had a lot to talk about. Are we meeting back at the shop?”

 

“Yeah. Keep yourselves safe until you’re at the rendevous point.” Riku replied.

 

“H-hey, Sven! Stop that!” her voice took on something mixed with panic and laughter.

 

“Umm…what’s going on, exactly?”Riku asked. He had been ready to hang up the device, but paused. “Who’s Sven?”

 

“Hold on, I’ll switch to video.” As the screen brightened up, he saw Kairi next to a reindeer that licked the side of ther face, then turned its attention to the camera, and licked it too.

 

“That’s okay,” a falsely affected voice assured them. “If I break your magic mirror, Kristoph will buy you another one.” Kairi protested, shaking her head. “No, that’s okay, it’s really—”

 

“Uh-uh, not happening,” A tall, blond man dragged the deer away. “Who knows how many months of hauling ice pays that thing off? Don’t touch other people’s stuff again,” he said sternly to the deer. 

 

“I don’t think it’s broken. But, the point is, we found the Princess. Unharmed. Mission complete.” Kairi nodded, satisfied with the work she and Axel had put in on the task, and what he kept calling a ‘sidequest’.“Anyways, Anna, tell my friend Riku who you’ve been searching for.”

 

“My sister Elsa, and my fiance, Prince Hans,” Anna, a tall and slight girl with her red hair in braids and an open, honest expression, twisted her fingers against her shawl. “They both vanished suddenly after Elsa’s coronation, and I’ve been looking everywhere for them. Have you heard from either one?” 

 

At the mention of the two names, Riku thought back to what the man he had crossed paths with had said, and frowned slightly. That hadn’t been what he had been told at all.

 

“Princess Anna…” The words didn’t form easily. And exactly how did he break the news that Hans had acted funny at the the mention of her sister? Just as he had tried to avoid the trouble with forming the right words to say, Riku was placed in the unavaoidable situation where he needed to tell the truth, unvarnished, and face whatever consequences came as a result. That was always what Riku had worried about. Even his half of the Mark of Mastery hadn’t tested everything there was to know about the nature of hearts.

 

It was easy for someone like Sora to say something nice to break the fall of bad news. Even if the person on the listening end had just met, they would trust someone like him right away. As for Riku, he preferred to work alone or with someone he trusted for a good reason. And this brought something new to be brave about that he hadn’t quite strategized for.

 

“I have heard from Prince Hans, Princess. I'll tell you soon.”

 

It was a choice that he couldn’t quite undo. And though he hadn’t considered the possibility of fighting Hans or whatever Heartless or Nobodies that lay ahead to be a challenge, this brought trouble of a different sort.

 

“Okay,” Anna’s smile was reassuring, which calmed him slightly. Then, Kairi reappeared on the feed, looking at him with a look. Specifically, the look she gave to people when she was five minutes out from prying out the secrets they were trying to keep with polite questions and an earnestness that outrivaled anyone else she knew,

 

“Let’s chat a little when we meet again, Riku. Stay safe.” Was all she said before the line cut off.

 

“You’re doing the right thing, Riku,” Mickey reached over and gently patted his wrist, before starting down the hill once more. “I think you’ll do a great job of telling her the truth. That’s what Princess Anna dserves.”

 

“You think so?”

 

“Absolutely,” the mouse nodded. “I mean, isn’t that who we’re up against? People that aren’t telling the truth, and don’t care who has to get out of the way to get what they want?”

 

That had been the very first set of that Riku had started, with the memories freshest to him of the Mark of Mastery. Within the ranks of the real Organization were people that craved power and people that were willing to do what needed to be done to get a taste of it. That relentlessness had scared him then, and even now, Riku couldn’t shake the feeling of what that ambition had in store for someone like Sora, and for the costs that he had already paid that may have laid down a path for the rise of darkness.

 

Regardless of what the days before him had in store, Riku knew that he had to face it as kindly as he could, no matter what. That itself was a lesson Sora had taught him, and it was one that was more precious than anything he had seen along the way.


	5. Two Trials

Whenever Riku had to do something important, the words always came to him easily. It had certainly helped that he could loom near a building or look mysterious with the help of a blindfold tied over his eyes. But those days were behind him, and now the threat of confronting someone directly loomed over him. “Princess Anna…” Riku shook his head. “No, that sounds weird…” He had been pacing in the clearing so far with the King, who seemed amused that he had rehearsed the motions of speaking to the young princess. “Hey, uh…Anna…no, that’s weird too, I don’t know her that well…”

 

“Are you practicing telling her her boyfriend is terrible?” Axel’s voice took on a slightly mocking edge. Of all the people that had made it back to meet him first, it had to be the smart-aleck. “Geez, who’d have thought that the veteran of breaking bad news here had a shortcoming like this…”

 

“The last time you had to break bad news to someone, they ended up getting _stabbed_ ,” Riku retorted. “So.”

 

“Hey! HEY.” Kairi cut in. “If you start a dumb argument, that means you have less time to get it together before Anna and Kristoff get here in the sled. Focus.”

 

“Fine,” both Riku and Axel replied in unison. Soon after, Axel and Mickey were lured inside by the promise of hot chocolate. Riku and Kairi retrieved two mugs, and sat outside, still waiting on the Princess and the ice-cutter.

 

“That’s the problem, isn’t it? Being open to the possibility of saying something that’s not meant to hurt, but hurting someone anyways…..”

 

“Has writing about it helped?” She asked.

 

The words had taken work to put together, but the action itself had helped clarify what had happened and what weight his memories carried. As Riku glanced over, he thought of the consequences of closing his heart when it had mattered. Kairi, glassy-eyed as opposed to the lively, optimistic friend that sat before him. Sora, who moved forward and seemed to be prepared to sacrifice anything if it meant seeing either of them again. Those had been the two people that had, in different ways, sent him out into the world.

 

“You know what? I think so,” he answered. “Any luck on training?”

 

“Yes, I’ve been meaning to ask. Axel does this thing where he just—” She set down the mug, and mimed a line straight across the snow. “—shoots this thing of fire to try to limit movement. I can’t figure out how to dodge it. Any ideas?”

 

“Did you ask him?’

 

“Why would I ask him? I can’t ask a Heartless on advice how to beat it. But… if I ask you, it’s not cheating.” Kairi grinned, and was evidently pleased with the logical conclusion she had come to.

 

“Okay, fine.” Riku looked over at Axel, who appeared to hold Olaf’s head over his body as the torso and arms of the snowman wriggled desparately upwards. The man appeared to be playing keep-away, and looked well out of earshot.

 

“Most of the Organization has some kind of cue in their movements. Look to see if he does anything consistent before attacking, then either block with your keyblade or rush in and stop him at the right time.” Riku spoke fast, still looking over to check if anyone else was listening. The last thing he needed was for someone still within the Organization’s ranks to listen in on them and get smarter about fighting off the Keyblade wielders.

 

“I think I should be all set,” Kairi nodded. “And it looks like you are too.” She pointed towards Anna, who was finally finishing rounding up the hill, out of breath but just as optimistic as she had been before. “Good luck, Riku.” With a pat on his shoulder, she moved away to rejoin Axel, leaving him to the task at hand.

 

= =

 

As it turned out, the truth was something that wasn’t so hard to talk about after all. “I don’t know if he’s definitely trustworthy or not,” Riku explained. “But the way that he talked about your sister wasn’t great.”

 

Anna, who looked every bit as curious and brihght and hoelessly optimistic, was crestfallen. It was clear that she had hoped for something between her and the Prince, but she considered Riku’s words carefully. At last, she looked up at him, eyes a little less blindly hopeful but filled with questions.

 

“What do you think it really feels like?” She asked. “To find someone you know will love you for you?”

 

For that question, an answer came easily enough to mind. He was surrounded by examples of that kind of love, and it had become something of a gift Riku hadn’t acknowledgd the advantage of. The entries in his journal had jotted them down one by one, paying attention in particular whenever his path crossed with Sora. It seemed that no matter how far apart they were, what connected the two of them was unwavering.

 

“Well,” Riku answered, “I think it’s when you think about that person, and you’d be willing to fight through anything if it made sure they were safe and happy. And you can expect them to do the same.”

 

“I see….” Anna nodded. From the small grimace in her eyes as she looked away towards the cabin, where Kristoff and his sled would take her to where she needed to be, she was hurt but not finished with her quest.

 

“ If this isn’t the time that it’s supposed to work out….Maybe I’ll have to find someone a little differently. But they’ll need to know about how much I care for Elsa. That’s non-negotiable.” And with that, the Princess picked herself off, dusted off her skirts, and moved back towards the cabin. “Come on,” she said. “We’ve got a Queen to find.”

 

And then, the avalanche started.

 

= =

 

In contrast to telling a princess some bad news, it was almost easy for Riku to figure out what to do. Axel and Kairi would continue to keep watch, and he and Mickey would scale up the mountains to figure out the source of the ice storm. All signs had pointed to the Queen of Arendelle, who had shut herself up in the mountains.

 

And yet, as they neared the peak of the North Mountain, Mickey turned to Riku, pausing near a ledge that lead to the summit.

 

“You’ve got that look on your face when you smell something off, Riku.”

 

“Yeah,” he answered. “Whoever’s causing this, it’s not her. That’s the scent of the Organization.”

 

And sure enough, standing near the gates of a castle of ice, was a tall hooded figure.

 

“How momentous an occasion, when my chosen element can help lure out the person I’ve been meaning to meet.” At the top of the mountain stood a tall, gangly figure clad in the coat of the Organization. He removed the hood of the coat to reveal the scientist whose creations had caused him so much trouble. 

 

“Such opportunities for heart to realize their potential are limitless—”

 

“Hey, I’ve got a question, Vexen.” Riku cut in, knowing that it could take a while if one of them really got started on talking about any topics related to hearts, darkness, or existence.

 

“Yes?”

 

“ Do you _really_ think batting around people like game pieces is ever going to pay off?” Certainty charged through him as he leveled the Keyblade and took aim. Frankly, he had better things to do than get looped into another nightmarish experiment. Not when he had fully known the heart of the replica that wanted to be real.

 

Another barrage of ice swept past him, sticking to the wall of snow behind Riku with sharp, quick jabs. He had dodged out of the way, and prepared a barrage of black and purple flames to counter.Mickey was getting rid of what looked to be a swarm of dusks that had flooded the mountain like wriggling, angry sentinels.

 

Out of the Organization’s members, Vexen had never been meant to be on the front lines, and he knew it. This was a diversion. But that couldn’t mean that he couldn’t do damage when it counted.

 

“Tell me,” Riku faced down the man, and realized just then that his eyes had changed from glass-green to the same eerie gold that Ansem and Xemnas possessed. “You really think things will be different this time around?” He leapt off the snow-wall, and rebounded right into the shield at the angle that knocked it from his hand. Then, he held the Keyblade so that it pointed at Vexen’s neck. With a glare, he dared the Nobody in silence to try anything funny.

 

“No,”the scientist’s voice was strained, but still confident as ever, as if this was merely a setback. But to him, everything was either a step towards the conclusion or a setback. That was the methodical way that he had built the boy that was to take Riku’s place.

 

Two small objects were thrown—lobbed, really— in Riku’s direction. His reflexes were fast enough to catch both. In his palm were a small data drive of plain black plastic, and an ornate purple badge of some sort emblazoned with a Heartless emblem.

 

“Ienzo will know what to do with the data,” he explained, without prompting.

 

“And this?” Riku held up the badge-like object. It was cool to the touch, but clung to him in an inperceptable way like the nagging feeling of something important he couldn’t quite remember.

 

“That’s for you to decipher,” Vexen grinned. This was the problem with the Organization— real, fake, or any incarnation in between. They were all pretentious, and they were always going to go to whatever lengths possible to avoid giving out answers freely. But now, Riku was alone once more with only King Mickey with him, having fended off danger only to leave more questions for himself.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s not a fic about Riku unless he verbally burns the hell out of some organization person trying to wax poetic at him tbh


	6. Sleeping Clues

 

“What do you think this thing’s going to summon?” Axel plucked the heartbinder out of Riku’s hands and tapped at the side of it, as if the motion would reveal something about just what it could do. “Merlin says it can reach across worlds and pull something your heart’s connected to. Neat, isn’t it?”

 

“I’d get it checked out by Master Yen Sid and Ienzo,” Mickey cautioned. “The Organization could’ve tampered with it to do something to Riku.” 

 

He had never done well when other people asked probing questions. For a year, he had either worn a blindfold or kept the hood of his stolen jacket pulled over his head, and moved about with business on his mind and nothing else. It was a lot easier then, because Riku had something that needed to get done.

 

But now, with far fewer secrets beween him and everything else, Riku found himself with far more time than he really, left to his own devices.

 

Vexen had never been a threat to him. The man had a shield, biting remarks, ice powers but nothing in comparison to the likes of Ansem or Xemnas. And yet, it was the scientist’s reappearance in the ranks of the Organization that stirred memories of the path they had sent him down. Sora had gone too, into the nest of traps that they had set in reality and in dreams.

 

“You were looking for Vexen, weren’t you? Isn’t he supposed to be on the same side as Ansem’s other apprentices?” Kairi tapped the side of her chin, thinking over the problem.

 

“Yeah, I never _did_ find him. And he’s not exactly one of my best friends. And especially after….uh” Axel gestured across his neck, and said nothing more.

 

Whenever the subject of Castle Oblivion came up, he seemed to draw back, as if the recollections of the time were distant, and were more trouble than they were worth. 

 

“So that’s a dead-end, for sure.” Shaking his head, Riku put away the heartbinder and with it, the questions that it had raised.

 

“Well, maybe the data on this can give Ienzo something to work with.” He held up the data drive. “Or a virus. But he’ll probably know what to do more than any of us.”

 

“But we can rest easy knowing that we’ve got our pie ingredients, Axel. And, as a bonus, we know that Princess Anna will be better off.” Kairi nodded confidently.

 

“EEEEEEEEK!” Almost immediately, hey heard the Princess of Arendelle scream from somewhere in the distance.

 

Kairi and Riku exchanged looks silently.

 

“I really need to work on timing the things I allow myself to say…” Shaking her head in frustration, she followed Riku as they ran towards the source of the danger. When they found her, she was pointing at a large sphere that was rolling their way.

 

“A monster! It’s got hands…and a wing…and a huge noise…sticking out of a _huuuge_ snowball!” Anna pointed at the snowball, which had slowed down.. A glaring Kristoff brandished a pickaxe at it as she hid behind Sven the reindeer. And indeed, s large, rounded lump had appeared from up the mountain, settling into the clearing where they now stood.

 

“No need to worry, Anna. I can speak with it,” Olaf cleared his throat and marched forwards. “Thanks to my snowiness, I can commune with my wintery relatons.”

 

“Olaf, I don’t think that’s a—” Riku began. He had already recognized one oversized shoe and a webbed yellow fin as two ridiculous but non-monstrous beings. Three muffled voices came from the lump, and really, it was only a matter of basic deductive reasoning that readily identified who it was.

 

But really, no amount of training that had to do with Keyblade wielding prepared someone to argue with a snowman. That wasn’t in any guidance that he or Mickey had received.

 

“Silence!” The snowman held up a twiggy hand. “Please. Let the professional work in peace.” He stepped forward with ore imperiousness than a two-foot snowman had any right to do after mouthing off to the people that had been actually doing most of the fighting.

 

“Hello, Snow-brethren! I come in peace!” Olaf said brightly.

 

In reply, two arms broke out of the snowball, and following that, Sora jumped free, followed by Donald and Goofy. All three looked freezing and miserable. But they had, in short succesion, answered any questions about the hands, wings and nose of Anna’s mystery snow-creature.

 

At the sight of Riku, Sora broke out into a surprised smile. They had always reunited under the most ridiculous of circumstances, and each time Riku was reminded that things hadn’t changed all that much, he was given a little more hope.

 

“Boy, am I glad to see someone that’s not a Heartless. Or a Nobody.” Brushing bits of snow off his jacket, Sora looked up at the top of the mountain gingerly. “So, there’s a really sad Queen up there, but someone from the Organization kicked me down the mountain before I could talk to her. And then—” He added. “I had to make it up there again, and caused an avalanche because Donald decided to annoy her ice-golem …”

 

“Did you see someone named Hans?” Anna asked. “Red hair, Princely clothes, about this tall?” She stretched her hand up past her height. Worry crept into her voice, as well as something Riku could only read as apprehension.

 

“No,” Sora shook his head. “But the storm’s stopped. Anyone could probably get back up eventually. Which means,” He slumped his shoulders, bracing his hands on his knees, before standing up again. “We’re going to have to try to see Elsa _again_.”

 

“Oh, ooh!That’s my sister!” Anna exclaimed. A flicker of optimism jolted into her as she spring up with a little excited hop. “Where is she?”

 

“The ice palace!” squawked Donald. “But she’s not letting anyone in!”

 

“Well, I’m going anyway,” Anna crossed her arms. “If anyone can get through to her, it’s me.” At the determined declaration, Goofy gave an approving nod, recognizing her conviction to find who she needed to find. That doggedness had been what had made it easier for Riku to talk to her, and the girl had a spirit that the harshest winter didn’t seem to quell in the slightest.

 

“Hey, how’d all of you get coats and stuff without magic?” Sora pointed to the warm-looking clothing that they were wearing, his eyes narrowing in jealousy. A glare over at Donald seemed to suggest that he had looked to the magician for better clothing.

 

“We went,” Axel answered blandly, “to the store.”

 

“Well, mostly to get directions.” Kairi admitted. “You didnt catch something, did you?” She glanced over at Sora, looking worried.

 

“Oh, no. I’m fine!” He beamed. “Once we started moving, I warmed up. Well, until the avalanche…”

 

“Here, take my stuff” Riku found himself saying. “Mickey and I need to head out soon, anyways.” He lifted the scarf he wore off his neck, and, closing the distance, looped it around Sora’s neck and adjusted it. The knitted hat went next and, though he had removed several much-needed layers of wool, he felt warmth creep up his neck and face.

 

“You’re the best, Riku. You know that?” Sora was never someone that was terribly difficult to make happy. Good weather, passed tests, and finding something interesting while exploring could all brighten his day. Lately, it was easy for whatever Riku was worrying about to disappear at the sight of Sora. Everything ahead seemed possible.

 

“I do,” That type of sunny optimism was infectious, and even someone as eye-contact averse as Riku couldn’t help but meet his eyes and smile back. The coat was gone, and so was the blindfold. Both had been because of Sora.

 

“Just wanted to make sure you don’t check in at the Tower as an ice cube.” The words he had exchanged with Anna brought just the type of answers that he had needed.

 

= =

 

Twilight Town was the next stop after Ienzo eagerly started decoding the data that Vexen had left, promising to call as soon as he had anything significant to report. That meant that Riku finally had time to honor another commitment of his. Journal in hand, he walked into the usual space where Pence had told him to meet.

 

Hayner was there, and was looking more serious than usual and holding a pair of thick headphones. “This way to the studio,” he said, leading Riku into the underpass, which was covered by a curtain.

 

The times where he had seen the place, it was empty, save for a dartboard and a couch. But this time, Olette was crouched over a glowing laptop, with a whiteboard on the other side of the room covered in pins and sticky notes. Pence was fiddling with a microphone.

 

“Oh, hey! You made it!” He looked up and gave an animated wave, gesturing at the empty swivel chair beside him.

 

“Yeah, uh…this isn’t going to spill any secrets related to stuff we’re doing right now, is it? Because I’m not putting my best friends in danger for your school project.” Riku asked, his voice flat. As he peered over at the whiteboard, several heartless symbols were visible along with “Keyblade War” and “Possibly Norted??????” with arrows pointed at a figure clad in a hooded organization coat. The three of them had been busy. Nosy, but in a way that Riku respected, in a way.

 

“I will edit out anything you find objectionable. But really, we’re close. So close to understanding what it all means!” The excitement was palpable in the other boy’s voice, so much so that RIku felt a little curious as to what their fight was about as well.

 

“Alright,” with some uncertainty still remaining, he slipped on the headphones Hayner had handed him.

 

“We begin,” Pence grinned, turning to the whiteboard, “with the question my listeners have been asking about for months.” He flipped over the nearly indecipherable scrawlings on the other side, so that one question was scrawled out in large, blocky letters on the other side. He had written it in red, so that everyone in the small room crammed with recording equipment could see it.

 

“Exactly how many Ansems are there?”

 

“Short answer?” Riku answered. “Two. Sort of. Long answer?” He sighed, and rubbed at the side of his head. “That one’s going to take a while…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the pencepod is either the best of the worst thing i have ever come up with

**Author's Note:**

> I need to google if there is a supercut of all the times Donald Duck roasts the living daylights out of Sora 
> 
> Between those moments and that one time the guy dubbed simple and clean with Donald’s voice this duck keeps on giving 
> 
> why is my author note on a riku/sora fic about donald oops oh well


End file.
